The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-07-15
TIE BAKER MUnpsn CASES

AlLY&7lNI%ElIIlIGENCE
TIE BAKER MURDER CASES
That are to Begin ut New Cumberland Next
Monday-sorhe New Points.
The all.Rbnorblng topic OF conversation
in Hancock county is theapproaching trial
Of Van B. Baker, for the murder OF bis
wife and his mo.her.in.law, Mrs. McWha,
short time since. The trial Ia 10 com.
mence at New Cumberland next Monday.
The double murder and the coming trial
have not only greatly excited the people
Of Hancock county, but all through the
Panhandle u marked interest Ia being
shown In the case and the probable fate
OF Baker proves. a fruitful topic almost
everywhere. Baker will DO the frat per.
son over tried for murder In Hancock
county, and 1t 10 not 10 be wondered at
that the good people OF the county are
considerably worked up over tho aitua.
ton, especially when the double irsgedy
was ono the details Of which were go
heinouR. 4,
1t Ia already a foregone conclusion that
u
crowd Of people 90 Bho hsa ever known in
her history during the two or three weeks
that the trial will commune, and private
persons have already begun to make pre-.
parationa Tor the accommodation Of the
strangers. d. W
A venire OF sixty jurora has been sum.
moned and with the twenty jutors held
over from the last term Of court, this will
make q .yenire Of eighty. The defense
asked that q full hundred jurors be i'm.
panneied, stating that they expected to
exercise unuaual care In the selection
OF jury. Many express the opinion
that tic full veniro OF eighty and another
one as large will be exhausted before
twelve good and true men competent to
alt on the case shsll have been fonnd. The
murder hoo been 40 thoroughly discussed
that nearly all have heard Of A. and ex.
pressed their opinion as to the gnilt Of
Baker. It Ia probable that two or three
days will be consumed in selecting the
! jury. 1t has alwayn been customary to
publish the jury list, but the court OFF,
cials deemed 1t best not to have 1t printed
this time, and SO declined to give 1t out
for publication. One reason for this 10
that some parties have said that rather
than serve on the jury, they would leave
the county. In such case tue Sheriff
would have considerable trouble serving
his summons.
All the lawyers agroe that the casca
will last for at least two weeks. rhia will
very probably DO the case, for there are
nearly one hundred witnesses to be ex.
amined and it Is not ut all unlikely
that one day will be consumed in taking
the jury to the scene OF the awful killing.
All this Ia going to cost Hancock county q
eoodly sum. Eighty ju,oYs will coat Sle0
per day and their mileage, and as only
eleven Of this number are said 10 live in
New Cumberland the mileage will amount
to considerable. q Sheriff Lindsay
started out early this week to serve the
summonHes. Baker by the way was very
mach opposed to having any jurors on the
panel from Butler district, tho district in
which he and his supposed victims lived.
Baker has been having anything but a
pleasant time in Jail these hot July days.
Last week he was sick and had to be at
tended by Dr.. McLane. A Waterman Is
stationed In the room in which his cell is
located, every night. He ia reported to
have aaid that in case John insolvency,
Of Wooster, Ohio, assists tho prosecution,
Dan Voorhees,, "the tall Sycamore Of the
Wabash" will assist the defenne. He
said it was SO arranged that Voorhees, will
come on Geographic notice. It is
settIed that Mr.. McSweeney is to
assis. Prosecuting Attorney HUFF, he hav.
ing been engaged by the relatives OF
the murdered woman, in place Of DR..
Caldwell, of WHlisburg, recently killed on
the railroad while returning from e. con-
sultation with his clients in this chae.
Hon. John A. Hutchinson, OF Parkera-
burg, engaged by the State to sssist DIR.
Hut, is expected to arrive st New Gum.
herland Saturday night. The legal talent
engaged ia OF calibrs that will make the
case stubbornly contested one. It il
said that Bsker was burned in efIiey al
Holidays Cove few nights since. The
feeling against him is still very strong
some say that It is moro intense than at
any time since the murder. y, " u.
| Baker is said to have written letter to
o miniater the next day after the murder,
in which theee words appeared: "My
vile and mother.iI-law we're murdered
yesterday; come and ofliciate at the fu-
neral" This after some Of Bakers state.
mentn reads queer.
Tho Toronto. Tribune publishes the fol.
lowing interesting story in connection
with the murder:
ut will be remembered that Baker
istated that he expected to ba q ires man
on the 4th, and that no mentioned having
an important engsgsment on that day
4 On Monday the lIth lady from the wesi
appeared ct the Cove looking ior Baker
She had written him several time lately
she said, but got no reply, and 90 che
came on to 500 why it was thus, as they
were engaged to BIO married, the wedding
to take place on the 4th Of July ut her
home. This is considered another s.ronp
point against Baker, and the authorities
have held the woman to appear at the
trial as q wisness. We sre unable to learn
her name." (. Z.
t. The Toronto Tribune also publishes the
following: A Mrs. Young who resides III
Holidays Cove Won in town the other
day and expressed herself as thoroughly
satisfied OF Bakers guilt OF the dual muir.
der. Mrs. Young's little girl had alwaya
taken the nsil Tor Mrs. McWha and MTs
| Boxer to their house, but on tho afternoon
Of the tragedy, Baker, as he wss yoing to
the train 10 leave, stopped to tell the little
|girl that che need not get the mai that
afternoon, that he would get it: Aftol
the train had gone tho little girl WEE
handed letter for Mrs Baker by the post
master, but abe refuaed to take It, az
ordered by Baker. Mrs. Young Think
Baker thus ordered the girl 10 keep he,
from going to the house and finding the
two women whom he had murdered.
l5i5 EqunlixinE City Taxes. ItE
The Council Board OF Equalization and
Appeals which commenced it's ses1ions al
the Public Building last Monday morn
ing and has. been in sssaion every day
since then met at 10 o'clock yesterday